Establishes and Maintains Agreements is the competency that keeps a coaching session purposeful. It governs the contract that frames the whole engagement and the smaller agreement made at the start of every session about what the client wants to accomplish. On the ACC exam, it is tested most often in the moment a client's focus shifts -- and the right answer is rarely to silently follow or rigidly resist.
This deep dive covers the ICF definition of Establishes and Maintains Agreements, its eleven behavioral indicators, how it is tested on the exam, and several worked sample questions. It complements the overview of all 8 ICF Core Competencies and the guides to Cultivates Trust and Safety and Evokes Awareness.
Establishes and Maintains Agreements is the third ICF Core Competency. ICF defines it as partnering with the client and stakeholders to create clear agreements about the coaching relationship, process, plans, and goals -- for the whole engagement and for each session. On the ACC exam, it shows up when a client's focus shifts or the session goal is unclear, and the strongest answers make the agreement explicit: naming the change and partnering with the client to decide how to use the time.
What ICF Means by "Establishes and Maintains Agreements"
In the 2019 ICF Core Competency framework, Establishes and Maintains Agreements is the third competency and sits in the Co-Creating the Relationship category. ICF defines it as:
Partners with the client and relevant stakeholders to create clear agreements about the coaching relationship, process, plans and goals. Establishes agreements for the overall coaching engagement as well as those for each coaching session.
The recurring word is "partners." Agreements are not set by the coach and handed to the client; they are co-created. And they operate at two levels: the overall engagement and the individual session.
ICF lists eleven behavioral indicators for this competency:
- Explains what coaching is and is not, and describes the process to the client and stakeholders.
- Reaches agreement about what is and is not appropriate in the relationship, what is and is not being offered, and the responsibilities of the client and stakeholders.
- Reaches agreement about the guidelines and specific parameters of the relationship, such as logistics, fees, scheduling, duration, termination, confidentiality, and inclusion of others.
- Partners with the client and stakeholders to establish an overall coaching plan and goals.
- Partners with the client to determine client-coach compatibility.
- Partners with the client to identify or reconfirm what they want to accomplish in the session.
- Partners with the client to define what they believe they need to address to achieve what they want from the session.
- Partners with the client to define or reconfirm measures of success for the session or engagement.
- Partners with the client to manage the time and focus of the session.
- Continues coaching in the direction of the client's desired outcome unless the client indicates otherwise.
- Partners with the client to end the coaching relationship in a way that honors the experience.
Indicators 6 through 10 generate the most exam scenarios. They cover the session-level agreement -- setting the focus, defining success, managing time, and following the client's direction unless the client changes it.
Why Establishes and Maintains Agreements Trips Up Candidates
Two patterns make this competency easy to miss on the ACC exam.
The shift-of-focus dilemma. When a client pivots mid-session, candidates split into two camps: those who redirect the client back to the original topic, and those who quietly follow the new one. Both are wrong. The competency calls for making the shift explicit and letting the client choose.
Invisible agreements. Early-session scenarios sometimes describe a client launching into a problem with no stated goal. The instinct is to start coaching the problem. The competency-aligned move is to first partner with the client to define what they want from the session (indicator 6).
The Two Levels of Agreement
Understanding the distinction between the two levels helps you read exam scenarios quickly.
The overall coaching agreement frames the engagement: what coaching is and is not, roles and responsibilities, logistics, fees, confidentiality, and broad goals. This appears in scenarios about starting a relationship, involving a sponsor, or clarifying boundaries. For how this connects to ethics and sponsored engagements, see the coaching boundaries and ethics guide.
The session agreement is made at the start of each session: what the client wants to accomplish today, what they need to address to get there, and how they will know the session was successful. Most exam scenarios for this competency test the session level.
How Establishes and Maintains Agreements Shows Up on the ACC Exam
This competency can appear in any domain but clusters in the 40% Coaching Competencies domain and the 30% Definition and Boundaries domain. The tell is usually a vague session goal, a mid-session shift in the client's focus, or a question about the parameters of the relationship.
Sample Practice Question 1: The Mid-Session Shift
A session began with a goal of improving delegation. Twenty minutes in, the client says, "Honestly, what's really on my mind is whether I even want to stay in this role." What is the strongest response?
A. "Let's stay with delegation for now, since that's what we agreed to work on." B. "Okay, tell me more about wanting to leave the role." C. "That sounds important. Would you like to shift our focus to that today, or hold it for later? How would you like to use our time?" D. "It sounds like the delegation issue and the role question are connected -- let's explore that link."
Best answer: C. It names the shift and partners with the client to renegotiate the focus (indicators 6 and 9), leaving the choice with the client.
Why the others miss: A rigidly holds the original agreement and ignores what is alive for the client. B follows the new topic without making the change explicit, so neither party consciously agreed to it. D is a reasonable coaching move but assumes a connection and steers, skipping the agreement step. The competency requires renegotiating the focus transparently.
Sample Practice Question 2: The Missing Session Goal
A client opens the session by immediately describing a conflict with a colleague in detail, without stating what they want from the conversation. What is the strongest response?
A. Begin asking questions to help resolve the conflict. B. "Before we go deeper, what would you like to walk away with from today's session on this?" C. "What do you think you should do about your colleague?" D. "Let me suggest we focus on improving your communication skills."
Best answer: B. It partners with the client to identify what they want to accomplish in the session (indicator 6) before diving into the content.
Why the others miss: A starts coaching the problem without a defined outcome. C jumps to action with no agreed focus. D imposes the coach's goal rather than co-creating one. Establishing the session agreement first is what this competency calls for.
Where Establishes and Maintains Agreements Intersects With Other Competencies
The exam often tests this competency alongside others.
With Cultivates Trust and Safety. Transparency about the process and respecting the client's choice of focus builds trust. Naming a shift respectfully serves both competencies.
With Maintains Presence. Following the client's direction unless they indicate otherwise (indicator 10) requires staying attentive to subtle changes in what matters to the client.
With Evokes Awareness and Facilitates Client Growth. Defining measures of success (indicator 8) connects the session agreement to the awareness and action that follow. An action step that does not tie back to the agreed outcome often misses on multiple competencies.
When two answers look defensible and one makes the focus or success measure explicit with the client, that is usually the agreements-aligned choice.
Common Wrong-Answer Patterns
The Establishes and Maintains Agreements traps repeat in predictable shapes:
- Rigidly holding the original topic. Redirecting a client back to the agreed goal when something more pressing has surfaced ignores indicator 10.
- Silently following a new direction. Going with the shift without naming it skips the partnering step.
- Coaching with no defined outcome. Diving into a problem before establishing what the client wants from the session misses indicator 6.
- Imposing the coach's goal. Suggesting what the session should focus on rather than co-creating it overrides the partnership.
When two answers look defensible, ask which one makes the agreement -- the focus, the outcome, or the parameters -- explicit and shared.
How to Recognize the Competency in 10 Seconds
By exam day, you want to read a scenario and quickly notice whether the focus is shifting, the session goal is missing, or the relationship's parameters are in question. When they are, suspect Establishes and Maintains Agreements and look for the option that partners with the client to set or revisit the agreement.
Three habits build that speed. First, learn the eleven indicators well enough to tag them as you read. Second, work through scenario-based sample questions until renegotiating the focus becomes your default read on a shift. Third, when you get one wrong, identify whether you held the old agreement too rigidly or followed the new direction without naming it.
CoachCertify practice quizzes and flash cards are organized by competency, so you can isolate Establishes and Maintains Agreements and drill it. For full-length, scaled-score simulation, use the timed mock tests, and for a full plan, see the complete ACC study guide.
CoachCertify is an independent exam preparation platform and is not affiliated with or endorsed by ICF. Practice content is aligned with the 2019 ICF Core Competencies and the 2020 ICF Code of Ethics that the ACC credentialing exam currently tests.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does Establishes and Maintains Agreements mean in the ICF Core Competencies?
Establishes and Maintains Agreements is the third ICF Core Competency in the 2019 framework. ICF defines it as partnering with the client and relevant stakeholders to create clear agreements about the coaching relationship, process, plans, and goals -- both for the overall engagement and for each individual session.
How is Establishes and Maintains Agreements tested on the ACC exam?
It is tested through scenarios where the client's focus shifts, the session goal is unclear, or the relationship's boundaries need defining. The strongest answers partner with the client to set, confirm, or renegotiate the agreement rather than assuming it or ignoring the change.
What is the difference between the overall coaching agreement and the session agreement?
The overall agreement covers the engagement -- logistics, fees, confidentiality, roles, and broad goals. The session agreement is established at the start of each session and covers what the client wants to accomplish that day and how success will be measured. The exam tests both, but session-level agreement appears most often.
Why do candidates lose points on Establishes and Maintains Agreements?
Because when a client shifts focus mid-session, candidates either rigidly redirect to the original topic or silently follow the new one. The competency calls for making the change explicit -- naming the shift and partnering with the client to decide how to use the time.
How can I get better at Establishes and Maintains Agreements for the ACC exam?
Practice scenarios where the client's direction changes or the session goal is vague. Learn to spot the option that renegotiates the agreement transparently, and study the eleven behavioral indicators until partnering on focus becomes your default read.
Keeping the Session on Purpose
Establishes and Maintains Agreements is what turns a conversation into coaching with direction. On the ACC exam, it is tested in the small but decisive moments where the client's focus moves and the coach must decide whether to hold, follow, or partner.
The path to recognizing it reliably is practice with feedback. Learn the indicators, work through scenarios until making the agreement explicit becomes your instinct, and by exam day the option that partners with the client on focus will be the one that stands out.